Grammar Basics for Kids: A Parent’s Quick Guide
Many parents feel rusty on grammar, especially when homework mentions determiners or conjunctions. You don't need to be an expert to help. Grammar is simply how words work together to make meaning, and most of what primary children learn fits on a page or two. Here's a quick refresher, plus simple ways to practise.
Word classes (parts of speech)
Every word in a sentence has a job. These are the main ones children learn at primary school:
| Word class | Job | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Names a person, place, thing or idea | dog, Sydney, table, happiness |
| Verb | An action or state of being | run, think, is, have |
| Adjective | Describes a noun | huge, red, noisy |
| Adverb | Describes a verb, adjective or other adverb | quickly, very, soon |
| Pronoun | Stands in for a noun | she, they, it, we |
| Preposition | Shows position, direction or time | under, after, through |
| Conjunction | Joins words or clauses | and, but, because, when |
| Determiner | Comes before a noun to specify it | the, a, some, those |
The same word can belong to different classes depending on how it's used: “I run every day” (verb) versus “I went for a run” (noun). Asking “what job is this word doing here?” is more useful than memorising lists.
What makes a sentence
A sentence needs a subject (who or what it's about) and a verb, and it should make sense on its own. “The cat slept” is a sentence. “Under the warm blanket” is not, because there's no verb and no subject. As children get older, they learn to join ideas with conjunctions (“The cat slept because it was tired”) and to vary how their sentences start. Reading their writing aloud is the best way to catch sentences that don't make sense or run on too long.
Punctuation essentials
- Capital letters start sentences and names, and “I” is always a capital.
- Full stops, question marks and exclamation marks end sentences.
- Commas separate items in a list and help longer sentences make sense.
- Apostrophes show missing letters (don't, it's) or belonging (Sam's bag). Plurals don't need one: it's “apples”, not “apple's”.
- Inverted commas (speech marks) go around the words someone actually says.
Our Punctuation Station game practises end marks, capital letters, commas and apostrophes.
Homophones: same sound, different meaning
Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelt differently and mean different things. They trip up adults too! The most common ones to master:
- there (a place), their (belonging to them), they're (they are)
- to (direction), too (also, or too much), two (the number 2)
- your (belonging to you), you're (you are)
- its (belonging to it), it's (it is)
A handy test for words with apostrophes: say the long version. If “they are” fits, use they're. Practise these with Homophone Heroes.
Tips for practising grammar at home
- Keep it in context. Grammar makes most sense in real sentences, so talk about it while reading books together.
- Play word-class games: “Give me three adjectives for this ice cream.” Or swap all the verbs in a sentence to make it silly.
- Edit together: when your child writes, ask them to read it aloud and fix anything that sounds wrong, before you point anything out.
- Use your school's words. Terms can differ slightly between schools and countries, so check homework sheets and use the same vocabulary.
Frequently asked questions
What grammar should a primary school child know?
The main word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and determiners), how to build a complete sentence, basic punctuation, and common homophones such as there, their and they’re.
How can I explain nouns, verbs and adjectives simply?
A noun names something, a verb is an action or state of being, and an adjective describes a noun. In “The hungry dog barked”, dog is the noun, barked is the verb and hungry is the adjective.
How do I help my child with there, their and they’re?
Teach the meaning of each: there is a place, their means belonging to them, and they’re means they are. If “they are” fits the sentence, use they’re.